Pre-mortem Analysis: Anticipate Failures Before Deciding
Apply pre-mortem technique to identify risks and blind spots of a decision BEFORE implementation.
Use reverse-prospective thinking to imagine the decision has already failed and identify the most probable causes, enabling proactive mitigation.
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Prompt objective
Use reverse-prospective thinking to imagine the decision has already failed and identify the most probable causes, enabling proactive mitigation.
Real use case
The founder of a natural cosmetics brand in Brazil is about to invest $50,000 USD to open their first physical store in a major shopping mall. Before signing the lease, they want a rigorous analysis of risks they may be overlooking due to enthusiasm.
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Prompt
Conduct a complete Pre-mortem Analysis for my decision/project. **The Decision/Project:** - Description: [DESCRIBE IN DETAIL] - Investment involved: $[AMOUNT] and/or [TIME COMMITMENT] - Expected completion date: [DATE] - Expected outcome of success: [DEFINE — e.g., $X/month revenue, 1000 customers, product launched] - My current confidence level (1-10): [NUMBER] - People/departments involved: [LIST] **Conduct the Pre-mortem in 5 Steps:** 1) **Failure Scenario (
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